Metamorphoses: Book 1 (8) by Ovid

metamorphoses by Ovid book one changes of shape new forms are the theme which my spirit impels me now to recite inspire me o God it is you who have even transformed my art and spin me a thread from the world's beginning down to my own lifetime in one continuous poem before the earth and the sea and the all-encompassing heaven came into being the whole of nature displayed but a single face which men have called chaos a crude unstructured mass nothing but weight without motion a general conglomeration of matter composed of disparate incompatible elements no Titan the Sun God was present to cast his rays on the universe nor Phoebe the moon to replenish her horns and grow to her fullness no earth suspended in equilibrium wrapped in its folding mantle of air nor Amphitrite the goddess of ocean to stretch her sinuous arms all around the Earth's long coastline although the land and the sea and the sky were involved in the great mass no one could stand on the land or swim in the waves of the sea and the sky had no light none of the elements kept its shape and all were in conflict inside one body the cold twists the hot the wet with the dry the soft with the hard and wait with the weightless the God who is nature was kinder and brought this dispute to a settlement he severed the earth from the sky and he parted the sea from the land he separated translucent space from the cloudier atmosphere he disentangled the elements so as to set them free from the heap of darkness then gave them their separate places and tied them down in a peaceful Concordat fire flashed out as a weightless force in the vaulted heaven and found its rightful place at the height of the firmament air came next in position and lightness earth was denser than these attracted the larger particles and sank through the downward thrust of its way in the nether region came water confining the solid disc in its liquid embrace when the god whichever one of the gods had divided the substance of chaos and ordered it thus in its different constituent members first in order that earth should hang suspended in perfect symmetrical balance he molded it into the shape of a great sphere next he commanded the Seas to scatter and swell as they fronted the blast of the winds surrounding the earth with its circle of Shore to the ocean he added the springs huge standing pools and the lakes and rivers to wind downstream as their sloping banks can find them these in their various places may be absorbed by the earth itself or travel as far as the sea where they enter the broad expanse of more open water and beat on the shore instead of their banks then he commanded the plains to extend and the valleys to sink the woods to be decked in their leaves and the rock faced mountains to soar and just as the sky is cut into zones with to to northward to to the south and 1/5 which burned with more heat than the others so with the earth which the sky encloses the God in His wisdom ordained five separate zones or tracks to be traced on its surface the central zone is too hot for men to inhabit the region to are buried in snow but too he placed in between and thus he blended the heat with the cold in a temperate climate hanging over the lands is the air whose weight exceeds that of fire by as much as the weight of earth exceeds that of water it was here that the God commanded the mists and the clouds to settle here that he posted the Thunder to trouble the hearts of men with the winds which caused the lightning that burned and the lightning that flashes still the Creator did not allow the winds dominion over the whole wide range of air as it is they can scarcely be stopped from tearing the world to pieces though each of them governs his blasts in a in quarter so angrily brothers can quarrel URIs is retreat is the home of the dawn from the realms of Arabia and Persia through to the mountains that gleam in the morning sunlight Zephyr is close to the evening and fans the shores that are warmed by the Setting Sun Boreas Lord of the blizzard sweeps into sathya land of the frozen north while austere opposite drenches the soil of the south with his clouds of incessant rain above the turbulent lower air the creator imposed the weightless translucent ether untainted by earthly pollution Nature had hardly been settled within its separate compartments when stars which had long been hidden inside the welter of chaos began to explode with light all over the vault of the heavens unless any part of the world should be wanting its own living creatures the floor of heaven was richly inlaid with the stars and the planets the waves of the sea were assigned as the realm of the glinting fishes the earth was the home of the beasts and the yielding air of the birds yet a holier living creature more able to think high thoughts which could hold dominion over the rest was still to be found so man came into the world may be the great artificer made him of seed divine in a plan for a better universe may be the earth that was freshly formed and newly divorced from the heavenly ether retained some seeds of its kindred element earth which prometheus the son of Iapetus sprinkled with raindrops and molded into the likeness of gods who govern the universe where other animals walk on all fours and look to the ground man was given a towering head and commanded to stand erect with his face uplifted to gaze on the stars of heaven thus clay so lately no more than a crude and formless substance was metamorphosed to assume the strange new figure of man first to be born with the golden age of its own free will without laws are enforced and it did what was right and trust prevailed punishment held no terrors no threatening edicts were published in tablets of bronze secure was none defend them the crowd never pleaded or cowered in fear in front of their Stern faced judges no pine tree had yet been felled from its home on the mountains and come down into the flowing waves for journeys to lands afar mortals were careful and never forced took the shores of their homeland no cities were yet ring around with deep precipitous earthworks long straight trumpets and curved bronze horns never summoned to battle swords were not carried nor helmets worn no need for armies but nations were free to practice the gentle arts of peace the earth was equally free and at rest untouched by the ho unscathed by the ploughshare supplying all needs from its natural resources contend to enjoy the food that required no painful producing men simply gathered Arbutus fruit and mountain strawberries kernel cherries and blackberries plucked from the prickly bramble acorns to which they found at the foot of the spreading oak tree spring was the only season flowers which had never been planted were kissed into life by the warming breath of the gentle Zephyrs and soon the earth untilled by the plow was yielding her fruits and without renewal the fields grew white with the swelling corn blades rivers of milk and rivers of nectar float in abundance and yellow honey distilled like Dew from the leaves of the ilex when Saturn was cast in the murky Tartarus Jupiter seized the throne of the universe now there followed the age of silver meaner than gold but higher and value than tawny bronze gentle spring was no longer allowed to continue unbroken the king of the Gods divided the year into four new seasons summer changeable autumn winter and only a short spring the sky for the first time burned and glowed with a dry white heat and the black of the wind wild winds froze the rain into hanging icicles people took shelter in houses their homes hitherto had been caves dents tickets or brushwood fastened together with bark for the first time also the corn was sown in long plowed furrows and oxen groaned beneath the weight of the heavy yoke a third age followed the silver age the bronze generation cruller by Nature more ready to take up menacing weapons but still not vile to the core the final age was of iron the floodgates opened and all the forces of evil invaded a breed of inferior metal loyalty truth and conscience went into exile their throne you served by guile and deception treacherous plots brute force and a criminal lust for possession sailors spread their sail to the winds they attempted to rare so rarely before and the keels of time that had formerly stood Stockstill on the mountain slopes presumptuously bobbed in the alien ocean the land which had been as common to all as the air or the sunlight was now marked out with the boundary lines of the weary surveyor the affluent earth was not only pressed for the crops and the food that it owed men also found their way to its very bowels and the wealth which the God had hidden away in the home of the ghost by the sticks was mined and dug out as a further incitement to wickedness now dangerous iron and gold more dangerous even than iron had emerged grimoire appeared who uses both his in his battles and brand it and brandished his clashing weapons in hands be spattered with slaughter men throw on their thefts no guest was safe from his hosts no father secure with his daughter's husband love between brothers was found but seldom men and their wives would long for each other's demise wicked stepmothers breed their potions of deadly Wolfsbane sons would cast their fathers horoscopes prematurely all duty to gods in the men lay vanquished and justice the maiden was last of the heavenly throng to abandon the blood drenched earth the upper air was not to be left in greater peace than the earth below the story goes that the Giants aspired to the throne of heaven and built a path to the stars on high by piling Mountain on mountain then it was that all mighty Jupiter launched his lightning bolts to shatter Olympus and shook Mount pelée on down from its base on the ridges of oz' when crushed by the mass they had raised those fearsome bodies lay prostrate Mother Earth as the story continues now steep and drenched in the blood of her offspring gave fresh life to the seething liquid unwilling that all the fruits of her womb should be lost and forgotten she turned their blood into human form but the new race also looked on the gods with contempt they're passionate lust for ferocious violence and slaughter prevailed you'd have known they were born of blood when Jupiter son of Saturn looks down from the heights of heaven he sighed and remembered the gruesome banquet served at like haiyan's table a recent event and not yet publicly rumored mightily angry as only Jove can be angry he called a General Assembly and all responded at once to his summons in cloudless skies you can clearly see a path in the heavens men call it the Milky Way well known for its brilliant whiteness this is the road which the gods must take to the mighty Thunderer's royal palace the well thronged halls to the right and the left with their doors flung open belong to the gods of the highest rank the common divinities live outside right here the elite and heavenly powers that be have established their hearths and homes and this is the place which if I could muster the boldness to say it I'd not be afraid to describe as the Palatine Hill of the firmament after the gods had taken their seats in the Marvel chamber Jove enthroned on a day and clutching his ivory sceptre shook the awesome locks of his head three times and again so causing the earth and the sea and the constellations to tremble then open his lips to give vent to his wrath in the following manner the fear that I feel today for the sovereign power of the universe equals my fear when each of the snake footed Giants was striving to lay his hundred hands on the sky and make it his own fear says that enemy was its impetus sprang from a single body and source but now I am forced to commit the whole race of mankind to destruction wherever the ocean roars on the shore by the streams of the Stygian river below I swear I shall do it let other cures be attempted first but what is passed remedy calls for the surgeon's knife less departs that our sound be infected I have my demigods all those powers of the countryside nymphs and fauns and satyrs my woodland spirits who dwell on the mountains these we have not yet chosen to welcome to heavenly honors but let us allow them at least to dwell on the earth we have given them or do your honors believe their safety is firmly assured when I Who am Lord of the lightning and master of all you gods and the object of plots hatched up by that infamous savage Lycaon the house was an uproar passions blazed as they called for the blood of the reckless traitor as when that band of disloyal malcontents raged to extinguish the name of Rome by murdering Caesar all mankind was suddenly struck by a terrible fear of grievous disaster to come and the whole world shuddered in horror and just as your people loyal devotion is welcome to you Augustus so was his subjects to JoVE a word and the gesture sufficed to control the murmuring hubbub and all were silent then Jupiter broke a silence again to make his pronouncement like Haiyan has paid for his crimes so far you may rest assured but let me describe his offense in the punishment meted out an evil report of the times had come to my ears deserts and proving it false I made my descent from heights of Olympus and wandered over the earth a God disguised as a mortal it would take too long to account the story of all the wickedness I discovered the truth was worse than rumor reported crossing over the high Arcadian mountains may Mella men may a nailless home of wild beasts silently and cold pine covered Lyceus i entered the palace of king Lycaon and ventured beneath his in hospitable roof in the twilight hour of the nightfall I gave a sign that a God had come and the common people turned to their prayers like haein began by mocking their piety then he said is it a god or a mortal I'll settle the matter by using a simple test there will be no doubt where the truth lies his plan was to make a sudden attack in the night on my sleeping body and kill me this was his chosen method of proving the truth not content with that he applied his sword to the throat of a hostage sent from Epirus and under my own protection and while the man's flesh still held some warmth he roasted part of it over the fire and poached the remainder in boiling water then set this repast on the table my moment now had arrived my lightening of vengeance struck and the palace collapsed in ruins on top of the household gods who shared the guilt of the master frightened out of his wits lycaon fled to the country where all was quiet he tried to speak but his voice broke into an echoing howl his ravening soul infected his jaws his murderous longings were turned on the cattle he still was possessed by bloodlust his garments were changed to a shaggy coat and his arms into legs he was now transformed to a wolf but he kept some shines of his former self the grizzled hair and the wild expression the blazing eyes and the beastial image remained unaltered one house has fallen but more than one has deserved to perish the demon of madness is holding dominion the wide world over you'd think that the human race had joined an evil conspiracy this is my sentence let all of them speedily pay for their crimes Joe had spoken some fueled his anger further by cheering loudly while others simply expressed their approval by clapping but still a murmur went round the loss of the human race will be widely deplored and what will a world bereft of morals be like in the future who will bring to our altars two offerings of incense is earth to be left to the mercies of ravaging wild beasts such were their questions that Jupiter told them not to be anxious he would take care of the future he said and he promised to breed a new race of miraculous birds unlike the people before it the God was now on the point of launching his bolts onto the whole wide earth but he feared that the conflagration might cause the Holy ether to catch fire - in a blaze from pole to pole he also remembered the fates decree that a time would arrive when the sea and the land and the Royal Palace of heaven would burst into flames and the complex mass of the universe come to grief so he put the lightning forged in the Cyclops workshop aside and chose a different method of punishing mortals by massing his storm clouds over the sky and destroying the race in a great flood all of the gales which scatter the gathering clouds and among them the Northwind aqua lo Jupiter promptly imprisoned inside the caverns of Aeolus notice the wind of the south he released notice flew out on his soaking wings his terrible visit covered in pitchy gloom his beard was a bundle of rainstorms water streamed from his hoary locks his forehead a cushion for mists his wings in the folds of his garments were sodden and dripping he squeezed the bank of menacing clouds like a sponge and a thunderclap followed instantly rain poured down from the sky in torrents Juno's messenger decked in her mantle of many colors iris the rainbow sucked up moisture to thicken the clouds the corn was flattened the farmer wept for his wasted prayers and all the fruit of a long years labor were gone to no purpose Jupiter's anger did not stop short in the sky his own kingdom Neptune the sea god deployed his waters to aid his brother he summoned the rivers and when they'd arrived at their master's palace he spoke to the meeting no need for a lengthy harangue he said pour forth in the strength that is yours it is indeed open the floodgates down with the barriers give full rein to the seeds of your streams he had spoken the rivers returned to relax the curbs on their sources and then rolled down to the ocean flats and unbridled career Neptune himself now struck the earth with his Trident it trembled under the blow and a raging torrent gushed from the chasm bursting their confines the rivers engulfed the plains and the valleys the orchids along with the crops and the cattle along with the people houses and shrines with their sacred possessions were swept to oblivion dwellings which stood their ground and were able to face such an onslaught on top 'old were still submerged from above by an overwhelming mountainous wave which leveled their pinnacles deep in the flood tide and now no more could the land and the sea be clearly distinguished the world was reduced to an ocean an ocean without any coastline look at the man on that hill or sitting alone in his fishing boat rowing across the fields where he recently guided his plowshare another is sailing above his cornfields or over the roof of his vanished farmhouse or casting his line in the top of an elm tree he might have dropped anchor to catch in the soil of a grassy meadow or else his dinghy is scraping the vine yard trellis below him there in the field where the slender goats were lately browsing on Tufts of grass the seals are resting their clumsy bodies underwater the Nerds gaze in utter amazement at coppices cities and buildings the woods are invaded by dolphins blundering into the branches and bumping the trunks till they shake them wolves are swimming among the sheep Pawnee lions and tigers are swept along in the flood no use to the boar is his lightning strength nor the speed of his legs to the floundering stag at the end of a tedious search for land and a resting place with wings exhausted and the wandering bird the wandering bird flutters down though to the waves small hills are completely submerged by the sea in its limitless freedom and billows are strangely beating against the peaks of the mountains all but a few have been drowned in the flood and any survivors for shortage of food or destroyed by long drawn-out starvation focus lies in the country between delecia and Vesely fertile land when still it was land at the time of the flood it was part of the sea and a plane of suddenly spreading water here you can visit a Twin Peaks mountain called Parnassus towering up to the stars and hiding its head in the clouds this was the only feature the ocean had left uncovered and here Deucalion sailing a tiny boat with his wife ran aground on landing they paid the homage due to the nymphs of the great Christian cave to the mountain spirits and Themis goddess of prophecy been in control of the Delphic Oracle you'd never find a better or more right-minded man the Deucalion neither a more god-fearing woman than Pyrrha when Jupiter saw that the world was a pool of swirling water and that only one was left of so many thousand men and only one was left of so many thousand women both of them guiltless of sin and both devout in their worship he scattered the mists with the North wind's help he banished the storm clouds exposing the earth once more to the sky and the sky to the earth Neptune's anger subsided as well laying his Trident aside he called the turbulent waters and called upon Triton the sea green mer man who heaved his shoulders encrusted by nature with shells of the Muir X above the surface with orders to blow on his resonant conch and signal the rivers and waves to withdraw triton lifted his hollow horn which reads in a spiral up from its mouthpiece to broaden out to a bell the horn whose notes when once he has filled it with breath in the midst of the deep rebound on the echoing shoreline from east to west so then when the God had raised his instrument up to his lips with the salt drop streaming down from his beard and the blast had sounded the biddin retreat it was heard by all the water of land and ocean and all the waters by which it was heard were held in check the sea recovered its shores the rivers though full were confined to their channels the flooding reach receded the hills were seen to emerge the earth rose up as the waves died down dry land expanded at the end of a long long day the tops of the trees in the forest began to appear their leaves still thick with a coating of slime the world was restored but when Deucalion saw it was empty and felt the silence brooding over the desolate earth he burst into tears and said to Pyrrha his dear companion my cousin my wife the only woman who still survives first we were tied by our kindred blood and then by our marriage now our very danger unites us here is the world with its glorious lands from east to west and here are we an inglorious crowd of two all else belongs to the sea as yet indeed we can hardly be certain the life that we have is safely assured these clouds still fill me with fear and foreboding how would you now be feeling my poor dear love if I had been lost and you had been snatched from death how could you have suffered fear on your own with no one there to comfort your sorrow believe me if you were lying beneath the waves my beloved I should follow you there to be drowned in the waves beside you I wish I could use my father Prometheus's skill to create mankind once again and breathe new life into molded clay today we too are all that is left of the human race that is the will of the gods we survive as nothing but relics he spoke and they wept they then decided to pray to the heavenly power of Themis and crave her help in a sacred oracle speedily side by side they made their way to cephus the river was still disturbed but cutting its usual channel drawing some water they sprinkled it over their heads and their garments and bent their footsteps towards the shrine of the holy goddess its gable was pale with unsightly moss and the fires on the altar were dead when they reached the temple steps they both prostrated themselves and fearfully pressed their lips on the cold hard pavement saying aloud if the prayers of the righteous can soften the hearts of the gods and win them over transforming their anger to kindness gentle Themis declare to us how to repair the loss of our wretched race and come to the aid of our deluged world the heart of the goddess was moved and she gave her response to them saying leave the sanctuary cover your heads and unger DeLeo garments then cast the bones of your mighty mother behind your backs they were long dumbfounded Pyrrha was first to break the silence and voiced her protests aloud she refused to obey the goddesses commands with trembling lips she begged for pardon too frightened to give such offence to her mother's ghost by casting her dead bones meanwhile they silently pondered the words of the puzzling reply which had come from the Oracle's dark recess and discussed them together Prometheus's son then gently suggested to calm Epimetheus daughter unless my wits are awry and slowly deceiving me Oracle's must be holy and never command what is sinful our mighty mother is earth I believe what is meant by her bone are the stones on her body and these we are bidden to cast behind us though Pierrot was much impressed by her husband's interpretation her hope still wavered they both distrusted the Oracles bidding but saw little harm in trying proceeding down from the temple they covered their heads under deled their robes and stepping out boldly scattered some stones behind their backs as the Oracle ordered who would believe what ensued if it wasn't confirmed by tradition the stone started to lose their essential hardness slowly to soften and then to assume a new shape they soon grew larger and gathered a nature more gentle than stone an outline of human form could be seen not perfectly clear like a rough-hewn statue partially carved from the marble and not yet properly finished but still the part of the stones which consisted of earth and contained some moisture was turned into flesh the solid inflexible matter was changed into bones and the veins of the rock into veins of blood in a moment of time by the will of the gods the stones that were thrown from the hands of a man or transformed to take on the appearance of men and women were fashioned anew from those that were thrown by a woman and so our race is a hard one we work by the sweat of our brow and bear the unmistakable marks of our stony origin other creatures after their various kinds came forth from the earth by spontaneous self generation the lingering moisture was warmed by the Rays of the Sun and the heat made the mud in the waterlogged marshes swell and expand the seeds of animal life were fed in the mother's womb of life-giving soil which engendered them growing in course of time to the shapes of the different species such we can see when the seven mouths Nile has withdrawn from the flooded drenched fields and brought its waters back to their normal channels after the freshly deposited mud grows hot in the sunshine the farmers turning the clods with plows discover a horde of new creatures some have arrived on the threshold of life and can even be watched at the moment of birth while others are still half formed and without their limbs it will sometimes appear in a single body that one of its parts is alive and the rest is composed of mere earth when heat and moisture are blended we know that they lead the conception everything owes its first beginning to these two elements though fire is at war with water their combination produces the whole of nature procreation from friendly enmity so at the time straight after the flood when the earth was muddy and heated again from above by the Rays of the Sun it produced an infinite number of species some of the forms which emerged were familiar before but others were new and amazing creations amongst these forms was an unknown serpent the monstrous Python also brought forth by earth at the time though she could not have wished for it sprawling over Parnassus it horribly frightened the newborn people's until it was killed by the deadly shafts of Apollo whose only targets before were the timid gazelles and the roe deer the snake was transfixed by a thousand arrows the quiver was almost emptied and out of its wound there spewed black gushes of venom in order that time should never destroy the fame of this exploit Apollo established the sacred games attended by huge crowds the Pythian games called after the serpent he vanquished Python here the athletes who won their events on track or on field or the chariot race would receive the glorious crown of an oak wreath the laurel had not yet appeared in Phoebus with garland the flowing locks of his comely head with any available foliage Apollo's first love was Daphne the child of the river pine is blind chance was not to be blamed but Cupid's spiteful resentment Phoebus in the flush of his victory over the serpent had noticed the love God bending his bow and drawing the string to his shoulder and asked him what are you doing with grown-up weapons you mischievous boy that bow would better be carried by me when I fire my shafts at my foes or beasts there unfailingly wounded my numberless arrows have just destroyed the venomous Python which filled whole acres of mountainside with its bellies infections you be content with your torch and use it to Kindle some passion or other but don't you sir penny honors belonging to me the son of Venus replied your arrows Apollo can shoot whatever you choose but I'll shoot you as mortal creatures must yield to a god your glory will likewise prove to be subject to mine then he beat his wings and cut a path through the atmosphere nimbly alighting upon the heights of shady Parnassus once there he drew from his quiver two arrows of contrary purpose one is for rousing passion the other is meant to repel it the former is made of gold and its head as a sharp bright point while the latter is blunt and weighted with lead one side of the reed shaft that was the arrow which Cupid implanted in Daphne's bosom the other was aimed at Apollo and smoked to the core of his being Phoebus at once was filled with desire but Daphne fled from the very thought of a lover she joyed in the forests layers and in spoils of captive beasts like the virgin goddess Diana finding her carelessly flowing locked in a simple headband courted by suitors and robes Phineas's daughter rejected them stubbornly single she'd roamed through the woodland thickets without concern for the meaning of marriage or love or physical union often her father remarked you owe me a son my daughter or else he would say now when my child will you give me a grandson marriage torches to die at Daphne were nothing less than a Napa ma lushes of shame would spread all over her beautiful cheeks she was lovingly cling to her father's neck in a coaxing appeal and say to him darling father I want to remain a virgin forever please let me Diana's father allowed her that Aeneas granted her wish but Daphne's peculiar beauty and personal charm were pawel powerful bars to her prayers fulfillment Phoebus caught sight of her fell in love and longed to possess her wishes were hopes for even his powers of prophecy failed him think of the flimsy stubble which burns in a harvested cornfield and think of a blazing hedgerow fired by a torch which a traveler has carelessly brought to close or dropped behind him at daybreak so was the God as his heart caught fire and the flame spread through to the depths of his soul and passion was fuelled with empty hope he eyes the hair hanging loosely over her neck and murmurs what if that hair were neatly arranged he looks at her bright eyes burning and twinkling like stars he studies her lips so teasingly tempting he fondly admires her hands with their delicate fingers he dotes on the shapely arms so nearly bare to the shoulder what's hidden he thinks must be even better but swift as the light breeze Daphne is gone with never a pause as he calls out after her stop dear Daphne I beg you to stop this isn't an enemy casing you stop you would think I'm a wolf pursuing a lamb a lion hunting a deer or an eagle pouncing on fluttering doves in midair but I'm not it is love that impelled me to follow you have pity how frightened I am that you'll fall and scratch that those innocent legs in the brambles you mustn't be hurt on account of me the ground where you're rushing away is so rough slow down my beloved I beg you don't run so fast and I promise to slow down - now asked who it is that desires you I'm not a wild mountain dweller this isn't an uncouth Shepherd minding the flocks and the herds round here impetuous girl you have no idea who you're running from that's why you're running so fast listen I am the master of Delphi Claro's and Tenedos pitar is temple - my father is Jupiter I can reveal the past the present and future to all who seek them I am the lord of the leer and song my arrows are deadly but one is even more deadly than they are the shaft which has smitten a heart that has never been wounded before healing is my invention the world invokes me as helper and I am the one who dispenses the herbs with the power to cure alas no herbs have the power to cure the disease of my love those arts which comfort the whole of mankind cannot comfort their master Apollo wanted to say much more but the terrified Daphne ran all the faster she left him behind with his speech unfinished her beauty was visible still as her limbs were exposed by the wind the breezes which blew in her face managed also to flutter her dress and the currents of air succeeded in blowing her tresses behind her flight made her all the more lovely but now the God in his youthful ardor was ready no longer to squander his breath on wheedling please spurred on by desire he followed the trail with new vigor imagine a greyhound imagine a hair it has sighted in open country one running to capture his prey the other for safety the Hound is about to close in with his jaws he believes he is almost there he is grazing the back of her heels with the tip of his muzzle the hare isn't sure if her hunter has caught her but leaps into freedom clear of the menacing jaws and the mouth which keeps brushing against her so with Apollo and Daphne the one of them racing in hope and the other in fear but the God had the pinions of love to encourage him faster than she he allowed her no rest his hands were now close to the fugitives shoulders his breath was ruffling the hair on her neck her strength exhausted the girl grew pale then overcome by the effort of running she saw Phineas's waters before her help me father she pleaded if rivers have power over nature Mar the beauty which made me admired too well by changing my form she had hardly ended her prayer when a heavy numbness came over her body her soft white bosom was ringed in a layer of bark her hair was turned in the foliage her arms into branches the feet that had run so nimbly were sunk into sluggish roots her head was confined in a treetop and all that remained was her beauty tree though she was Apollo still loved her caressing the trunk with his hand he could feel the heart still fluttering under the new bark seizing the branches as though they were limbs in his arms embrace he pressed his lips to the wood but the wood still shrank from his kisses see this then said to her since you cannot be mine in wedlock you must at least be Apollo's tree it is you who will always be twined in my hair on my tuneful ear and my quiver of arrows the generals of Rome shall be reached with you when the jubilant paon of triumph is raised and the long procession ascend the capital on either side of Augustus gates your trees shall stand sentry faithfully guarded the crowd of oak leaves hanging between them as I with my hair that is never cut I'm eternally youthful so you with your evergreen leaves are for glory and praise everlasting he had done with a wave of her new formed branches the laurel agreed and seemed to be nodding her head in the treetops definitely boasts a ravine called Tempe enclosed on each side by a rock fence covered with trees and down at the temper of Tania's role pours and rolls on his foaming way from the foot of Mount pendous powerfully tumbling the cataract leaps in the clouds of a wandering wispy vapor the spray besprinkled the trees on the cliff tops like showers of rain and a constant roar is returned from the distance this is a dwelling the mansion the innermost shrine of the Mighty River God here he dispenses justice enthroned in a cave carved out of the rock to all of his waters and nymphs of the waters this was the gathering point of firstly the local rivers uncertain whether they ought to congratulate Daphne's father or offer condolence spookiest whose banks are bordered with poplars Restless in a pious ancient up idleness gentle emphasis and a s these were shortly followed by other streams who wander lazily down to the sea as their current impelled them only Anaka failed to appear he was buried away in the depths of his cavern adding tears to his waters in pitiful grief for the loss of his daughter Isle he didn't know whether she was still alive or had gone to the shade but as she was nowhere at all to be found he feared the worst and believed she had vanished what happened as IO was one day coming away from her father's River Jupiter saw her and cried you beautiful maiden worthy of Jo how happy the husband who makes you his own you should rest in the depths of these shady woods and he pointed the dem out while the Sun is so high in the sky at its zenith and burning so fiercely if you are afraid to enter the wild beasts Slayers on your own you'll be safe with a God to guide you into the forest secret recesses no ordinary god but i who wield in my mighty hand the scepter of heaven and hurl the volatile lightning she started to flee don't run from me now already she'd left the pastures of lerna and word would either see in country behind her when jupiter throwing a mantle of darkness over the wide earth halted the flight of the runaway nymph and stealthily raped her meanwhile queen juno directed her gaze on the middle of argos the day had been bright and sunny but now to her great surprise the clouds had suddenly turned it tonight the mist didn't come from the river she saw but it couldn't be due to the Earth's own moisture where was her husband she looked all around she was quite familiar with Jupiter's amorous tricks as she caught him straying so often as soon as she failed to find him in heaven her instant reaction was either I'm wrong or I'm wrong and gliding down through the air she alighted on earth and commanded the mist to remove themselves the God however anticipating his consorts arrival had changed the daughter of a nachus into a snow-white heifer even so she was perfectly lovely Saturnian Juno as much as it galled her was forced to admire the beautiful creature whose is it whence does it come what heard she inquired and pretended ignorant born of the earth lied Jupiter hoping to silence her searching questions Juno then asked him please will you give her to me as a present what was what was he to do to surrender his love would be cruelly painful but not to give her would look suspicious conscience would argue for her surrender his love was against it love indeed would have won the battle but if he refused the paltry gift of a cow to the wife who was also his sister it could have appeared that the creature was not exactly a heifer Juno's rival was now in her power but her phears continued to haunt her she still suspected job and his treacherous wiles until she put Argos the son of arrest or in charge of IO Argus's head had a hundred eyes which rested in relays two at a time while the others kept watch and remained on duty whichever way he was standing his eyes were always on IO even behind his back she could never escape from his watchful stare she could graze in the daytime but after sundown he'd pinned her inside an enclosure and tie her innocent neck with a halter her food was tree leaves and bitter herbs her bedding was earth not always to grassy her water came from the muddy streams when I Awan today a targis with outstretched arms no arms were there to out stretch when she opened her mouth to complain her own voice startled her all that emerged was a hideous lowing she came to the banks were so often she'd played the banks of her father Anika's here when she looked in the water and saw her reflected head with its strange new horns she recoiled from herself in a panic the Nyad had no idea who she was and even Inachus failed to know her but she still followed her father and sisters quickly along and allowed them to Pat her back and admire her anak has plucked some grass and tenderly held it out to her licking and kissing her father's hands she couldn't help weeping if only words could have followed her tears she'd have begged him for help she'd have told him her name and described her plight to letters were all that could serve her words to letters traced by a hoof in the dust which revealed her name and the sorry tale of her transformation woe and alas old anak has cried as he tenderly fondled her the horns and clung to the snowy neck of the moaning heifer woe and a laugh he repeated are you the daughter I searched for over the whole wide world my sorrow is not so heavy when I was unable to find you you're silent and cannot reply to my questions you only respond with a deep deep sigh from your heart when I speak to you all you can offer me back is a melancholy low blind to the future I busied myself with plans for your wedding in hope to gain a new son and soon to become a grandfather now your husband and children must come from a herd of cattle if only death could allow me to end this terrible sorrow sadly I have to remain a god and the gates of Hades are barred to me grief must be my companion for ever and ever so the father lamented but star eyed Argus discreetly used him a five and led the daughter away to more distant pastures there he transferred himself for the height of a mountain summit from where he could sit and keep watch in every direction the king of the gods could no longer endure his beloved IOT's pain and distress he summoned his son who Maya the radiant pleiad had borne and gave him his order some murder Argos mercury only paused to Don his winged sandals cover his head and seize the sleep giving wand which empowers his hand thus attired the offspring of Jupiter left from his father's Citadel bound to the earth once there he discarded his wide-brimmed hat took off his sandals and simply clung to his snake twine staff which he used in herdsman fashion to drive the goats he had rustled along his way through the scrubland playing the while on his reed pipe Juno's guard was entrance entranced by the unfamiliar music you there whoever you are said argus do come over and sit with me here on this rock you'll find no richer abundance of grass for your goats and you'll see there's plenty of shade for a herd soon mercury then sat down and filled the lingering hours with a desultory chat he attempted to conquer watchful eyes with the drone of his pan pipes but Argus fought to resist sleep soft seduction while some of his hundred eyes were allowed to surrender others were kept wide awake loop I the pipe had been newly invented so Argus drowsily asked his companion about its invention the God then told him a tale in the cold Arcadian mountains among the known a Korean wood MEMS there lived a remarkable Nyad syrinx her sisters called her whom all admired for her beauty more than once she'd eluded pursuit by lascivious satyrs and all the various gods who dwell in the shadowy forests and fertile fields she modeled herself on the goddess Diana in daily life and by staying chaste when she dressed as a Huntress you might have been taken in and suppose she was Leto's daughter but for her bow which was made of horn where Diana's is gold despite it she passed for Diana one day she was spotted returning from Mountain Esaias by pan bedecked with a garland of sharp pine needle he spoke to her saying but mercury broke off there and didn't describe how the nymph rejected the gods advances and fled through the field until she arrived at the river laden peacefully flowing between its sandy bay banks since the waters were barring her way she called on the nymphs of the stream to transform her so just at the moment when pan believed that his syrinx was caught instead of a fair nymphs body he found himself clutching some Marsh reeds but while he was sighing in disappointment the movement of air in the rustling reeds awakened a thin low plaintive sound enthralled by the strange new music and sweetness of tone pan exclaimed this Sylvan pipe will enable us always to talk together and so when he bound some reeds of unequal length with a coating of wax ass earrings the name of his beloved what and stayed in his hands that was the story the god of celini was going to when he saw that his enemies drowsy eyes had all succumbed and were shrouded in sleep at once he stopped talking and Stroke the centuries drooping lids with his magic wand to make sure he was out then he rapidly struck with his sickle shaped sword at his nodding victim just where the head comes close to the neck and hurled him bleeding down from the rock to be spatter the cliff in a shower of gore argus was finished the light that had glittered in all those stars was extinguished a hundred eyes were eclipsed in a single darkness Kuno extracted those eyes and gave them a setting like sparkling jewels in the feathers displayed on the tail of the peacock her own bird blazing with anger she wasted no time in venting her fury by sending a horrible demon to frighten the eyes of IO by day and her mind at night a goading terror was planted deep in her heart which hounded her over the world in flight at the end of the road was the Nile where the tale of her toils was concluded as soon as she reached it she sank to her knees by the bank of the river looked up with her neck thrown back and lacking the arms to lift up in prayer up lifted her face to the stars the groans that she uttered the tears that she shed and her piteous lowing seemed to be challenging Jupiter pleading with him to grant her an end to her sufferings Jupiter then drew Juno gently into his arms and asked her to punish IO no more you may banish your fears for the future he said she will never provide you with cause for vexation again and he called on the Stygian marshes to witness his promise once the goddess had been placated IO recovered her human face in her body the horn shrank down the cow eyes narrowed the gaping mouth grew smaller the shoulders and hands came back the hooves dissolved and faded way into five smooth toenails all that survived of the snow-white cow was it's glowing beauty happy once more to be standing on two feet only the fair nip rose from the ground but frightened to speak in case she still load like a heifer she nervously tried a few words in her long lost language attended by linen clad priests she is worshipped today as a goddess finally IO gave birth to a son called epithets thought to be sprung from mighty Jupiter seed and throughout the cities his temple is linked with his mother's one of his peers and rivals was Phaeton child of the Sun God on one occasion epithets took exception to Phaeton boastful talking his failure to show him respect and his arrogant pride and his father Phoebus ridiculous boobie he sneered too believed every word that your mother tells you the picture you have of your father is false and inflated Phaeton space crew red but shame put a brake on his anger he went and reported apophysis guides to his mother Clementi to distress you further dear mother he added i Phaeton known as so open and savage timbered said nothing I'm deeply ashamed that these scandalous taunts should be thrown at our heads and I couldn't refute them mother if I am truly the son of a god please give me a sign of my glorious birth and establish my title in heaven after he'd spoken he threw his arms round his mother's neck imploring her if she valued the life of himself and her husband mere ops and if she hoped that his sisters would happily marry to offer him positive proof that his father was really the Sun God we cannot be sure whether fate Hans prayers or Clemen ease anger at what was imputed against herself affected her more but she raised both arms to the sky and her eyes to the sun's bright beams to protest by under resplendent orb with his glistening rays who hears in surveys that's all my child swear to you now that the Sun you gaze on in wonder the Sun which governs the whole world is truly your father if I speak false may he ever refuse me his light and may this day be the last when my eyes shall behold him small effort is needed to find your way to your father's hurt the domain from where he arises begins where our own land ends if your spirit impels you be off on your way and question the Sun God himself as soon as his mother had finished speaking Phaeton darted out in excitement the sky was already his own crossing his native Ethiopia and India clearing the land of the Sun he hastened East to discover his father

Channel: Jade Vine

Views: 11,215

Rating: 4.823009 out of 5

Keywords: metamorphoses, ovid, mythology, rome

Id: hRV8L2QiaQ8

Length: 58min 42sec (3522 seconds)

Published: Tue Aug 08 2017